1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to the art of laundry appliances and, more specifically, to the incorporation of an energy saving feature in a clothes washing machine.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
In a clothes washing appliance, it is necessary for a consumer to establish parameters for a desired operating cycle. For instance, either before or after loading a tub of a washing machine with clothes to be laundered, the user must typically establish a desired wash level, a wash temperature, and an operating time for a particular cycle. Typically, these selections are made through various rotatable, sliding and/or push button controls provided on a control panel of the appliance. However, other control arrangements, such as a touch screen control, have also been proposed.
In general, there exists in the art two major designs or models for clothes washing machines, i.e., horizontal axis and vertical axis washing machines respectively. Horizontal axis machines operate on the general premise of tumbling a load of clothes through a relatively small amount of water contained in the tub of the machine. That is, the clothes are continually directed through, lifted from, and then re-directed through the water. On the other hand, a vertical axis washing machine requires a greater amount of water for a particular wash load and operates to agitate the clothes for cleaning purposes.
In addition to requiring less water on a per wash load basis, horizontal axis washing machines are generally more efficient from an energy usage standpoint than vertical axis washing machines. Based on promulgated government regulations, energy efficiency or star ratings have been established for clothes washing machines. In order to receive an energy star rating, a clothes washer must therefore meet certain energy and water usage factors. At present, the government established values are 1.26 KWH per cubic foot of wash volume (EF) and 11.0 gallons per cubic foot (WCF). Given the inherent energy efficiencies associated with horizontal axis washing machines, higher energy ratings are more easily achieved. Unfortunately, this is not the case in connection with vertical axis washing machines. However, achieving the energy star rating is still important to the viability of a vertical axis washing machine. Based on the above, there exists a need for a vertical axis washing machine which is configured in a manner which enables the energy star rating to be achieved, while still meeting consumer needs.
The present invention pertains to a vertical axis washing machine configured to meet predetermined energy and water usage factors. More particularly, a vertical axis washing machine constructed in accordance with the invention operates by establishing a balance between water temperature, water level, and wash performance. In accordance with the overall invention, additional controls for the washing machine enable an energy saving hot wash cycle to be established, with this wash cycle being designed to automatically establish a wash temperature which is intermediate warm and hot water temperature settings. Furthermore, maximum and minimum wash water levels are predetermined to meet the energy savings goal.
In accordance with the most preferred form of the invention, a maximum wash level is set at approximately 19.0 gallons, while a minimum wash level is set at 8.25 gallons. With respect to water temperatures, the energy savings temperature is established at 90xc2x0 F., based on a hot temperature of approximately 120xc2x0 F., a warm temperature of approximately 75xc2x0 F., and a cold temperature of 60xc2x0 F. Therefore, this energy savings temperature provides a slightly cooler hot water washing temperature. To enhance the convenience of establishing this setting, the energy saving mode is established via the coordination between the energy saving selection and a standard hot water washing operation.
Additional objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more fully apparent from the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment, when taken in conjunction with the drawings wherein like reference numeral refer to corresponding parts in the several views.